244 WHITE OAK CLASS 



follow that they should not be covered as deep as would be 

 necessary on dry ground. 



POST OAK : Quercus minor 



THIS Oak is classed and sold in the lumber market as 

 White Oak, and it has some of the good qualities of that 

 noted tree, but by no means all. Its natural range is a wide 

 one and is included in a boundary line running from Cape 

 Cod along the Atlantic Coast to northern Florida, from 

 there along the Gulf to Galveston, thence northward 

 to Kansas, and from there in almost a direct line across 

 Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and Pennsylvania to 

 Massachusetts. In localities of its best development trees 

 have been found one hundred feet high and three feet in 

 diameter, but this is far above the average. It varies greatly 

 in character with location. It is somewhat dwarfed in some 

 sections, and in its extreme northern range may frequently 

 be found small and of little value, except for fence posts, 

 from which fact its common name no doubt arose. It pre- 

 fers a dry, sandy soil. Unfortunately it does not appear to 

 be willing to drop its lower limbs and grow tall and smooth 

 far up from the ground, no matter how much it may be 

 crowded by neighbors. What systematic forestry might 

 bring about is uncertain. The shape of the leaf of the Post 

 Oak is peculiar. From the stem to about one half its length 

 it closely resembles that of the White Oak. It then broad- 

 ens and from there on to the point its shape is substantially 

 the same as that of the Chestnut Oak. 



The wood is heavy, hard, strong, close-grained, and dur- 

 able in contact with the soil. Its annual rings are well 

 marked, and there is a broad distinction between spring 

 and summer wood. Its medullary rays are numerous and 

 quite conspicuous, causing it, together with the color of the 

 wood, to resemble White Oak closely. The heartwood varies 

 in color from light to dark brown, with a thick and lighter- 

 colored sapwood. It is difficult to season, checking badly 



